AMERICAN IMPERIALSM

Many people around the world view Americans as Imperialistic, desiring to rule the world, enslave the inhabitants of less fortunate countries and pillage the land of natural resources. Nothing could be further from the truth. America is the most giving, caring and selfless country in the history of the world. When we go to war we do so to free the oppressed, rescue an ally or protect ourselves after being attached. When we leave a country we leave behind a country that can stand on its’ own and is a better place to live. Max Steinke stood on a hill on the Island of Bahrain and looked westward at the forbidden Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “That is where it is”, he proclaimed. On May 9th, 1933, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud gave a consortium to the Standard Oil Company of California to prospect for oil and Chief Geologist Max Steinke got his chance to explore for oil and the rest is history. The reason that the United States received the consortium instead of its’ competitor England was due to imperialism displayed by the British. Papers seized during the fall of the Czar of Russia showed the mid-east carved up and England got the Arabian Peninsula. American values dictate that local customs and traditions will not be altered and America will not force its’ customs on other countries. England, France and Portugal didn’t follow this and many countries today display the traits of these foreign powers. As the United States exited a country we would depart on good terms and remained close allies. England’s return of countries to sovereignty in the 1950s was a different story. It left rulers in place that were loyal to the British Crown but also had many inhabitants seeing the country as being a puppet of England. Bill Sime, a construction superintendent of mine, was a member of both the British SAS and briefly the French Foreign Legion. He would tell me stories of his SAS unit and what they had to do to quell the riots as a country would be turned over to local control. The United States has never had to face such a situation. So hold your head high America. There is no reason to be ashamed for being a success and every reason to be proud for your generosity and caring.

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